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The differences between materials research engineers and product design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a product design engineer has an average salary of $94,827, which is higher than the $87,100 average annual salary of a materials research engineer.
The top three skills for a materials research engineer include materials research, research projects and characterization techniques. The most important skills for a product design engineer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.
| Materials Research Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $87,100 | $94,827 |
| Hourly rate | $41.88 | $45.59 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 82,912 | 170,485 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
A materials research engineer researches, processes, and develops test materials used to create a wide range of products. They must be good in analytical, mechanical, and math skills. They are likely to perform in their role such as formulating their own project concepts, executing technology projects about the development of novel polymer fiber-reinforced composites, and identifying unknown material compositions. Also, they implement powder processing equipment and manufacture tools to improve their efficiency and quality.
A Product Design Engineer designs new products that customers will want to purchase. They are responsible for designing, modeling, and testing prototypes for products.
Materials research engineers and product design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Materials Research Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $87,100 | $94,827 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $111,000 | Between $69,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Beaverton, OR | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Nike | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a materials research engineer and a product design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Materials Research Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Materials Science And Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between materials research engineers' and product design engineers' demographics:
| Materials Research Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.2% Female, 33.8% | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 2.1% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 19.6% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.2% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 5% |